(no subject)
Characters: Cara (feathered_earth), Martillo (camoerrista), Reed (heretic_hamlet) and Composer (darcyredux)
Date/Time: January 27th
Location: The Fourth Floor
Rating: PG
Summary: The doors open onto a memory.
It was a wide space, hollow, the inside of a massive tree. Towers of vines climbed up the walls of the trunk, the floor a mat of roots and vegetation--and in the middle, four crystals each as high as a man. A towering figure in spiked blue armor was slumped behind them. Four people lay some distance away, clearly wounded even though there was no mark on their bodies. Cara saw herself rush over to the furthest one--Grandpa! And the other three... the two women, one with pink and one with purple hair, the young man with the unruly brown mop. Her grandpa spoke an indistinct word. "Exdeath--"
"Don't worry," she said, trying to sound reassuring but unable to mask the worry. "He shouldn't be doing anything for a while... Oh!"
Because she could hear the clanking of armor. Red light suddenly flashed, and the armored person--Exdeath?--stood.
"Impudent little fool!" The voice, deep and filled with ageless malice, made the Cara standing in front of the crystals flinch. But she stood her ground as Exdeath summoned a ring of fire around himself and then surrounded her with it.
"H-hey, what are you--" She could smell it singing her hair, the heat much too intense--
"Die!" He barely moved his hands, but the ring of fire suddenly slammed into the walls of the trunk and her along with it. Once--twice--three--and then finally slamming it to the ground with a final cry of pain from her. "Gr...Grand...pa...!" Her voice came weakly, choking on the heat.
He said something--her name? But she couldn't hear it... Exdeath ran back behind the crystals and raised his arms. Streams of light and energy blasted out of them and into the four people lying there helpless... and Cara knelt helplessly in the flames, barely able to keep concious. Exdeath would kill them all--
--and then Grandpa stood up. Slowly, with great effort, but he rose to his feet and turned to face the crystals. He took one step forward into the blasting energy--another--another.
"So certain you want to keep moving, Galuf?" Exdeath mocked. "Try to dispel this power, and your precious crystals will shatter!"
Inside the ring of fire, Cara slumped to the ground. Grandpa--Galuf--turned to her and shouted again. The next step forward shattered the crystal, just as Exdeath had said it would, but he didn't seem to care. Stepping into the flames, he... something happened. There was a hissing and roaring of magic and a bright glow surrounded him as he pushed her out, the ring contracting into him until it finally vanished. "Exdeath!!!" he roared, drawing his weapon and rushing forward.
Everything else after that seemed to pass in a haze... Cara struggled to keep her eyes open, but there was no strength in her arms when she tried to get up and help him. She saw Grandpa and Exdeath clashing blades, vicious strikes--Exdeath calling down terribly powerful magic, but though Grandpa might stagger or stumble, he never once wavered, always bring up his sword to strike at the warlock again and again. There was no expression to be seen on Exdeath's helmet, but there might have been frustration in his voice. "Take this!!!" Something invisible sent Galuf staggering back--for a second.
"Now I'll show you my true power! Prepare yourself for the afterlife!" From what little Cara could see, everything went red, and she felt the unbearable heat even this far from the spell. Then everything seemed to turn blue-white and something blasting heavenward. Flaming chunks of rock pounded into him, forming craters around his body. She forced herself to look up, afraid of what she would see--he had stood up again. "Why...why won't you die!?" Rage and... something else. Desperation?
"Takes a lot more than that... for me to kick the bucket!" Galuf snarled, almost gasping as he stood there. "I'll destroy you, Exdeath... even if it means I have to take you into the afterlife myself!" He drove forward, mercilessly attacking, hacking at his foe.
"Fool!" Exdeath roared. "All the hatred in existance would never be enough to defeat me!"
"This... isn't anger..." Galuf said, "...isn't hatred... it's..." He gasped, unable to finish.
"Then... what?" Exdeath said, and Galuf fell. The energy from the crystals stopped suddenly and they moved to Exdeath as he teleported away in a flash of red. Cara heard the others stirring, Bartz and the two women--she managed to get up too, wobbling but staying on her feet. How hadn't she been hurt worse from that? But... "Grandpa!"
He lay on the ground, not even stirring--bloody and burnt, clothing practically shredded from Exdeath's all-out assault. "Galuf!" shouted the pink-haired woman.
"Grandpa!!!" Cara ran over as quickly as she could--the four of them surrounded him. She fell to her knees, grabbing his hands, the only part of him that seemed intact. "Galuf!" shouted Bartz--repeated by Lenna a moment later, more desperately. His eyes flickered open.
"Hold on," said the rough-voiced woman. "We can--"
"No good..." he said, his voice hoarse and pained. "'S too late... f'r me..."
"Galuf!" said Bartz. "Don't talk like that!"
"Galuf!" said the pink-haired woman again, as though holding desperately to his name. The rough-voiced woman's tanned skin went pale. "Get up, you old bat!" she snarled. "Quit playing around, this isn't funny!"
His eyes drifted closed. "Wake up..." Cara said, holding his hands tighter. "Wake up, please!"
"Bartz..." Galuf began... the next two names, Cara couldn't hear. "My dear..." Again, if it was a name he said--hers?--it was inaudible. "Exdeath... Destroy... him...."
"Grandpa--! No!" Cara screamed, leaning over him, tears running down her face. No, no, no! "You can't die, you can't!!!"
"Galuf! Curaga!" Bartz raised his arm. Powerful healing magic flooded over Grandpa, but his wounds were as hideous as ever.
"Please... Raise!!!" That was the pink-haired woman, again the magic came, but it seemed to sink right through him into the ground.
"Open your eyes!" said the rough-voiced one. "Phoenix Down! Elixir! Anything!" She uncorked bottles, pouring them into his mouth, over his injuries, but nothing worked...
Nothing worked, he was dying, he was going to die and they couldn't stop it, no, no! Cara gasped as his hands began to flicker and fade away. His entire body... he locked eyes with her for one final time before they rolled back, his weak grip on her hands going limp as his body vanished. A choked sob escaped Cara as her hands closed on empty air. "GRANDPA!!!" The scream burned her throat as she collapsed on the ground, still wet with his blood. "No! No! You can't leave me! You can't die!!!" And then there was nothing more she could say, nothing she could do except sob helplessly. She felt the touch of a gentle hand on her shoulder, but there was no room in her to think about anything else. He was gone, gone, how could he be gone?! But he was--no trace of him left. Utterly gone.
Light flashed. Cara lifted her head--was that someone else's hand on her shoulder? A voice...? "Grandpa is calling!" she gasped, staggering to her feet and running out of the rough doorway in the treetrunk, Bartz and the others ignored. She looked around desperately as light flashed again, the voice--she could hear him speaking, but not what he said. Where was it coming from? "Grandpa!?" She ran to and fro, but again nothing... then what looked like a ring of leaf and branch descended slowly from the tree.
"The Guardian Tree, which has protected the crystals for a thousand years, is letting me borrow its power to speak to you." Cara's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at the tree itself, speechless. "I don't have long. I want to give you my strength..." His voice paused a moment. "C'mon, -----... don't cry... stand with Bartz and the others, be strong, and fight!"
"No!" she exclaimed, finding her voice again and stepping forward. "You do it, come back! Don't leave me alone!" She couldn't do what he asked...she looked down as the tears returned, unable to stop them.
"You know I can't do that," he said. "But you're not alone. You understand that, don't you."
Slowly, she knelt down and picked up the branch. There was a flash of green, like earth--she felt it rushing throughout her entire body, magic, skill, stamina--it felt almost as though she was growing five inches just by holding it in her hands, but then it vanished into them. Heat surged through her, heat and light. Cara sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve, not crying anymore. "Grandpa..." she said, flexing her fingers. "...it's warm... Grandpa--I feel you with me..."
"I'll be in your heart, always." And then his voice was gone. She nodded slowly.
"Grandpa... I understand."
[ooc: Scene can be viewed on Youtube here. Feel free to skip through the bulk of the boss battle.]
Date/Time: January 27th
Location: The Fourth Floor
Rating: PG
Summary: The doors open onto a memory.
It was a wide space, hollow, the inside of a massive tree. Towers of vines climbed up the walls of the trunk, the floor a mat of roots and vegetation--and in the middle, four crystals each as high as a man. A towering figure in spiked blue armor was slumped behind them. Four people lay some distance away, clearly wounded even though there was no mark on their bodies. Cara saw herself rush over to the furthest one--Grandpa! And the other three... the two women, one with pink and one with purple hair, the young man with the unruly brown mop. Her grandpa spoke an indistinct word. "Exdeath--"
"Don't worry," she said, trying to sound reassuring but unable to mask the worry. "He shouldn't be doing anything for a while... Oh!"
Because she could hear the clanking of armor. Red light suddenly flashed, and the armored person--Exdeath?--stood.
"Impudent little fool!" The voice, deep and filled with ageless malice, made the Cara standing in front of the crystals flinch. But she stood her ground as Exdeath summoned a ring of fire around himself and then surrounded her with it.
"H-hey, what are you--" She could smell it singing her hair, the heat much too intense--
"Die!" He barely moved his hands, but the ring of fire suddenly slammed into the walls of the trunk and her along with it. Once--twice--three--and then finally slamming it to the ground with a final cry of pain from her. "Gr...Grand...pa...!" Her voice came weakly, choking on the heat.
He said something--her name? But she couldn't hear it... Exdeath ran back behind the crystals and raised his arms. Streams of light and energy blasted out of them and into the four people lying there helpless... and Cara knelt helplessly in the flames, barely able to keep concious. Exdeath would kill them all--
--and then Grandpa stood up. Slowly, with great effort, but he rose to his feet and turned to face the crystals. He took one step forward into the blasting energy--another--another.
"So certain you want to keep moving, Galuf?" Exdeath mocked. "Try to dispel this power, and your precious crystals will shatter!"
Inside the ring of fire, Cara slumped to the ground. Grandpa--Galuf--turned to her and shouted again. The next step forward shattered the crystal, just as Exdeath had said it would, but he didn't seem to care. Stepping into the flames, he... something happened. There was a hissing and roaring of magic and a bright glow surrounded him as he pushed her out, the ring contracting into him until it finally vanished. "Exdeath!!!" he roared, drawing his weapon and rushing forward.
Everything else after that seemed to pass in a haze... Cara struggled to keep her eyes open, but there was no strength in her arms when she tried to get up and help him. She saw Grandpa and Exdeath clashing blades, vicious strikes--Exdeath calling down terribly powerful magic, but though Grandpa might stagger or stumble, he never once wavered, always bring up his sword to strike at the warlock again and again. There was no expression to be seen on Exdeath's helmet, but there might have been frustration in his voice. "Take this!!!" Something invisible sent Galuf staggering back--for a second.
"Now I'll show you my true power! Prepare yourself for the afterlife!" From what little Cara could see, everything went red, and she felt the unbearable heat even this far from the spell. Then everything seemed to turn blue-white and something blasting heavenward. Flaming chunks of rock pounded into him, forming craters around his body. She forced herself to look up, afraid of what she would see--he had stood up again. "Why...why won't you die!?" Rage and... something else. Desperation?
"Takes a lot more than that... for me to kick the bucket!" Galuf snarled, almost gasping as he stood there. "I'll destroy you, Exdeath... even if it means I have to take you into the afterlife myself!" He drove forward, mercilessly attacking, hacking at his foe.
"Fool!" Exdeath roared. "All the hatred in existance would never be enough to defeat me!"
"This... isn't anger..." Galuf said, "...isn't hatred... it's..." He gasped, unable to finish.
"Then... what?" Exdeath said, and Galuf fell. The energy from the crystals stopped suddenly and they moved to Exdeath as he teleported away in a flash of red. Cara heard the others stirring, Bartz and the two women--she managed to get up too, wobbling but staying on her feet. How hadn't she been hurt worse from that? But... "Grandpa!"
He lay on the ground, not even stirring--bloody and burnt, clothing practically shredded from Exdeath's all-out assault. "Galuf!" shouted the pink-haired woman.
"Grandpa!!!" Cara ran over as quickly as she could--the four of them surrounded him. She fell to her knees, grabbing his hands, the only part of him that seemed intact. "Galuf!" shouted Bartz--repeated by Lenna a moment later, more desperately. His eyes flickered open.
"Hold on," said the rough-voiced woman. "We can--"
"No good..." he said, his voice hoarse and pained. "'S too late... f'r me..."
"Galuf!" said Bartz. "Don't talk like that!"
"Galuf!" said the pink-haired woman again, as though holding desperately to his name. The rough-voiced woman's tanned skin went pale. "Get up, you old bat!" she snarled. "Quit playing around, this isn't funny!"
His eyes drifted closed. "Wake up..." Cara said, holding his hands tighter. "Wake up, please!"
"Bartz..." Galuf began... the next two names, Cara couldn't hear. "My dear..." Again, if it was a name he said--hers?--it was inaudible. "Exdeath... Destroy... him...."
"Grandpa--! No!" Cara screamed, leaning over him, tears running down her face. No, no, no! "You can't die, you can't!!!"
"Galuf! Curaga!" Bartz raised his arm. Powerful healing magic flooded over Grandpa, but his wounds were as hideous as ever.
"Please... Raise!!!" That was the pink-haired woman, again the magic came, but it seemed to sink right through him into the ground.
"Open your eyes!" said the rough-voiced one. "Phoenix Down! Elixir! Anything!" She uncorked bottles, pouring them into his mouth, over his injuries, but nothing worked...
Nothing worked, he was dying, he was going to die and they couldn't stop it, no, no! Cara gasped as his hands began to flicker and fade away. His entire body... he locked eyes with her for one final time before they rolled back, his weak grip on her hands going limp as his body vanished. A choked sob escaped Cara as her hands closed on empty air. "GRANDPA!!!" The scream burned her throat as she collapsed on the ground, still wet with his blood. "No! No! You can't leave me! You can't die!!!" And then there was nothing more she could say, nothing she could do except sob helplessly. She felt the touch of a gentle hand on her shoulder, but there was no room in her to think about anything else. He was gone, gone, how could he be gone?! But he was--no trace of him left. Utterly gone.
Light flashed. Cara lifted her head--was that someone else's hand on her shoulder? A voice...? "Grandpa is calling!" she gasped, staggering to her feet and running out of the rough doorway in the treetrunk, Bartz and the others ignored. She looked around desperately as light flashed again, the voice--she could hear him speaking, but not what he said. Where was it coming from? "Grandpa!?" She ran to and fro, but again nothing... then what looked like a ring of leaf and branch descended slowly from the tree.
"The Guardian Tree, which has protected the crystals for a thousand years, is letting me borrow its power to speak to you." Cara's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at the tree itself, speechless. "I don't have long. I want to give you my strength..." His voice paused a moment. "C'mon, -----... don't cry... stand with Bartz and the others, be strong, and fight!"
"No!" she exclaimed, finding her voice again and stepping forward. "You do it, come back! Don't leave me alone!" She couldn't do what he asked...she looked down as the tears returned, unable to stop them.
"You know I can't do that," he said. "But you're not alone. You understand that, don't you."
Slowly, she knelt down and picked up the branch. There was a flash of green, like earth--she felt it rushing throughout her entire body, magic, skill, stamina--it felt almost as though she was growing five inches just by holding it in her hands, but then it vanished into them. Heat surged through her, heat and light. Cara sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve, not crying anymore. "Grandpa..." she said, flexing her fingers. "...it's warm... Grandpa--I feel you with me..."
"I'll be in your heart, always." And then his voice was gone. She nodded slowly.
"Grandpa... I understand."
[ooc: Scene can be viewed on Youtube here. Feel free to skip through the bulk of the boss battle.]